Refrigerator display case



.Oct. 7, 1969 I F. BARROERO 7 REFRIGERATOR DISPLAY CASE Filed March 4. 1968 11 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Louis E BARROERO ATTORNEYS Oct. 7, 1969 L. F. BARROERO REFRIGERATOR DISPLAY CASE l1 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 4. 1968 m wl LOUIS E BARROERO WMI-W' ATTORNEYS Oct. 7, 1969 F. BARROERO REFRIGERATOR DISPLAY CASE ll Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March- 4, 1968 v 1.x TOR. LOU IS F BARROERO m Mr- Oct. 7,1969 Q I i L. F. BARRVOERCID 3,471,210

REFRIGERATOR DISPLAY CASE I Filed March 411-968 I 11 Sheets-Sheet s LOUISE BARROERO ATTORNEYS INVENTOR.

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I I REFRIGERATOR DISPLAY CASE l1 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed m.- 1968-; j

I F lG" 9 ATTORNEYS Oct. 7, 1969 .L. F. BARROERO 3,471,210

. REFRIGERATOR DISPLAY CASE Filed March-'4 195s 11 Sheets-Sheet v Q9 j Y I I.\'\ 'ENTOR. LOUIS E BARROERO ATTORNEYS 1969 L. F. BARROERO REFRIGERATOR DISPLAY CASE ll Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed March 4, 1968 O R E O R R A B E E w L L. F. BARROERO REFRIGERATOR DISPLAY CASE Oct. 7, 1969 Filed March 4, I 1968 11 Sheets-Sheet 9 LV-JEXTOR.

LOUIS F BARROERO ATTORN EYS Oct. 7, 1969 L. F. BARROERO REFRIGERATOR DISPLAY CASE l1 Sheets-Sheet 1G FlG 2O Filed March 4, 1968 INVENTOR. LOUIS F BARROERO WM+ZM ATTORNEYS Oct. 7, 1969 I L. F. BARROERO 3,471,210

REFRIGERATOR DI SPLAY CA-S E Filed March 4, 1968 11 Sheets-Sheet 1:

INVENTOR. LOUIS E BARROERO FlG. -L26 Q ATTORNEYS I United States Patent 3,471,210 REFRIGERATOR DISPLAY CASE Louis F. Barroero, 1585 Daniel Drive, San Leaudro, Calif. 94577 Filed Mar. 4, 1968, Ser. No. 710,121 Int. Cl. A47f 3/00; F2511 23/.02

U.S. Cl. 312-329 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A refrigerator display case having a case frame, an upright post disposed within the case frame, and a semicylindrical door pivotably attached to the post and supported relative thereto by means of a pair of arms fixed near the top and bottom of the door, respectively, the door being pivotal from a closed position to a position substantially within the case frame.

Background of the invention This invention relates to refrigerators, and more particularly to a refrigerator having a door which opens to a position substantially within the body of the refrigerator.

As is well known, the conventional type of freezer or refrigerator used in supermarkets is of the open type. That is to say, it is generally of elongated configuration with a large permanently open top or front and a number of shelves therein on which items are placed. While this type of unit is relatively convenient for use in that there are no doors to open and close to allow access to the items, it has been found that the cost of operating such a unit is quite high, obviously due to the fact that heat is continually allowed to enter the unit through the open top or front. While, of course, a conventional doortype refrigerator could be substituted for such an open type to overcome the high operating cost thereof, other problems arise from such a substitution. The door-type refrigerators generally have a door which opens outward of the refrigerator body. In a supermarket or smaller market, where utilization of space is extremely important, this can create serious problems of congestion and inconvenience in the aisle adjacent the refrigerator, and also make necessary a wide aisle space adjacent the door. It would thus be advantageous to provide a refrigerator having a door which is capable of closing the refrigerator to keep heat from traveling thereinto, the door meanwhile being capable of movement to a position substantially within the refrigerator body.

Display cases, whether of the refrigerator or nonrefrigerator type, which provide such movement of a door thereon are known. See, for example, Morrison (2,994,572), Waddell (946,626), Ressinger (2,362,095), McCosh (1,791,736), Finn (1,326,718), and Romsos (1,134,908). However, these devices have certain drawbacks which should be pointed out. Morrison, Romsos and McCosh each provide a door which is itself slidable in rollers or grooves to a position substantially within the case body. Thus, either a relatively complicated roller structure (Morrison) is required, or close tolerances of such grooves is necessary to provide smooth and proper movement of the door (Romsos and McCosh). Waddell and Ressinger each provide means adjacent the ends of the doors therein to support the respective doors. But it will be seen that these support means are not particularly sturdy, and are not adapted for use where the doors therein are to be pivoted about an axis substantially perpendicular to the ground. Finn provides an upright post to support the doors therein. While a sturdy means of support is disclosed, this device provides a pair of doors and a relatively complicated operating structure.

3,471,210 Patented Oct. 7, 1969 It is an object of this invention to provide a display case having a single door which is adapted to close the case and adapted to be moved to a position substantially within the case body, meanwhile being quite simple in design and operation.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a display case of such type which is extremely sturdy and smooth in operation when the door is pivoted about an axis substantially perpendicular to the ground, with no close tolerances required and virtually no possibility of binding.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a display case of such type having automatic door closing means cooperating therewith.

Summary of the invention Broadly stated, the case for displaying items com prises a case body within which the items are disposed and defining an opening allowing access to the items. A door is configured to close the opening and form with the case body a substantially airtight case when the opening is so closed. A substantially upright post is mounted within the case and to the case body. An arm is pivotally mounted to the post and fixed to the door, whereby the door is pivotally mounted to the post, the door being pivotable to a first position to substantially close the opening and to a second position substantially within the case body allowing access through the opening to the items contained therein. Means are included for supporting the door in its first and second positions and when being moved therebetween. Further included are means for biasing the door in its first position and resiliently urging the door toward its first position.

Brief description of the drawings These and other objects will become apparent from a study of the accompanying specification and drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the device;

FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the device showing the door thereof;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the device with portions removed;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the post of the device and structure mounted thereon, with portions removed;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation with a portion removed, of the post portion of the device and structure mounted thereon;

FIG. 8A is a plan view of a door and surrounding framework of the device with the door in a closed position;

FIG. 8B is a view similar to FIG. 8A but with the door in an intermediate position;

FIG. 8C is a view similar to FIGS. 8A and 8B but with the door in an open position;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line 99 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary plan view of an arm of the device, showing the offset of the post around which the arm is pivoted, the arm being shown in its position when the door is closed;

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 10 but with the arm shown in its position when the door is open;

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a shelf of the device, shown in cooperation with a strap extending across the face thereof;

FIG. 13 is a side elevation of the structure of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the strap and post of FIGS. 12 and 13;

FIG. is a sectional view showing the mounting of another embodiment of shelf structure on the post;

FIG. 16 is a sectional view of yet another embodiment of shelf structure mounted on the post;

FIG. 17 is a sectional view taken along the line 1717 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 18 is a sectional view taken along the line 1818 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 19 is a sectional view taken along the line 19-19 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 20 is a sectional view taken along the line 2020 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 21 is a sectional view taken along the line 21--21 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 22 is a view similar to that of FIG. 17 but with the door open;

FIG. 23 is a sectional view of alternative support structure for the bottom portion of a door of the device;

FIG. 24 is a plan view of the device shown as a walkin refrigerator unit;

FIG. 25 is a plan view of the device shown as a reach-in refrigerator unit;

FIG. 26 is a plan view of the device shown as a refrigerator unit positioned in the corner of a room.

Description of the preferred embodiments A refrigerator display case 10, mounted in a wall 12, is shown in FIG. 1. The display case 10 includes upright frame members 14, 16 and 18. A curved frame member 20 interconnects frame members 14, 16 at the tops thereof, and a curved frame member 22 interconnects frame members 14, 16 at the bottom thereof. The frame members 14, 16, 20, 22 form a first case frame 23 defining an opening. The case frame 23 is part of a case body which includes the rearward portion of the refrigerator. Similarly, a curved frame member 24 interconnects frame members 16, 18 at the tops thereof, and a curved frame member 26 interconnects frame members 16, 18 at the bottoms thereof. The frame members 16, 18, 24, 26 form a second case frame 25 defining an opening. The case frame 23 and case frame 25 form part of a case body which includes the rearward, upper and lower portions of the refrigerator display case 10.

Cooperating with these openings are doors 28, 30 which are of substantially semi-cylindrical configuration. The frame members and members which make up the doors are shown in detail in FIGS. 17-21 and FIG. 3.

As will be seen in these figures, frame members 14 and 18 are extrusions, and frame member 16 is made up of a pair of frame member extrusions 16A and 16B bolted together. Door 28 is made up of upright extrusions 32, 34, curved top and bottom extrusions 36, 38, and a glass portion of double thickness. Door 30 is of similar construction. Frame member 14 has mounted along its length a sealing strip 42, to cooperate with extrusion 32, and frame member 16B has a similar sealing strip 44 mounted along its length to cooperate with the corresponding extrusion of door 30. Frame member 16A has fixed thereto a bracket 46 which holds a longitudinal sealing strip 48 which cooperates with extrusion 34, and frame member 18 has fixed thereto a bracket 50 which holds a longitudinal sealing strip 52 which cooperates with the corresponding extrusion of door 30. Frame member 20 has mounted along its length a sealing strip 43 to cooperate with top extrusion 36, and frame member 22 has mounted along its length a sealing strip to cooperate with bottom extrusion 38. Heater cables (as 54) are mounted in the extrusions where required. The mounting of the doors 28, 30 so that such cooperation takes place will now be described in detail.

The support means for such a door 28 relative to the frame is best shown in FIG. 4. Shown therein is a substantially upright post 56 mounted in a suitable support bearing 58 which in turn is mounted to the floor. An arm 60 is pivotally mounted to the post 56 at the upper end thereof by means of a bearing 62. A second arm 64 is pivotally mounted to the post 56 adjacent the lower end thereof by means of a bearing 66. Arms 60 and 64 each extend from the post 56 and are fixed to upper and lower portions of the door 28 respectively. The bearings 62 and 66 are limited in their travel along the length of post 56, and so act to hold the door 28 in proper position along the length of the post 56. The door 28 is pivotally mounted to the post 56, about the longitudinal axis 142 of the post 56, the arms 60, 64 determining the path of travel of the door 28.

Fitted over the post 56 is a longitudinal shelf tube 68 (FIGS. 5 and 6) having four radial flanges 70, 72, 74, 76 extending therefrom, each running the length of the shelf tube 68. Adapted to slidably fit over the shelf tube 68, and having slots 78, 80, 82, 84 therewithin to receive the flanges 70, 72, 74, 76 respectively, is a shelf bracket 86. The shelf bracket 86 has therein an aperture 88 adjacent slot 84 which is registrable with any one of a plurality of apertures 90 along flange 76 as shelf bracket 86 is slid up or down along shelf tube 68. Shelf bracket 86 may be locked in position relative to the shelf tube by disposing a locking pin 92 through the aperture 88 and through any one of the opertures 90. Shelf bracket 86 has arms 94, 96, 98, extending therefrom, upon which rests an annular plate 102 of a shelf 104. The annular plate 102 is fixed to the shelf bracket 86 by means of screws 106 which pass through apertures 108 in the annular plate 102 and thread into receiving apertures 110 in the arms 94, 96, 98, 100. In this way the shelf 104 is mounted relative to the post 56, and yet can be adjusted along the length of the post 56 by removing locking pin 92, moving the shelf 104 up or down, and replacing locking pin 92. A set screw 111 may be provided as a locking means in addition to the locking pin 92. It will be seen, of course, that other shelves 112, 114, 116 (FIG. 4) may be mounted in a similar manner.

Drive means 113, as an electric motor, may be provided to slowly rotate post 56 (through a gear reduction). Bearings 62, 66 allow rotation of the post 56 relative to the arms 60, 64 and door 28. Shelf tube 68 rotates with post 56, as do shelf bracket 86 and shelf 104, and items placed on shelf 104.

Other means for mounting shelves on post 56 are shown in FIGS. 15 and 16. In FIG. 15, post 56 has a plurality of apertures 118 therethrough, and a shelf 120 is mounted on a sleeve 122 disposed about post 56. Sleeve 122 has an aperture 124 therethrough which is registrable with one of the apertures 118. The position of shelf 120 along post 56 may be set by moving the shelf 120 until aperture 124 in registry with one of the apertures 118, and placing a pin 126 through these apertures.

In FIG. 16, a sleeve 128, similar to sleeve 120, is disposed about post 56, and on the sleeve 128 is mounted a shelf 130. However, instead of providing apertures in the sleeve 128 and post 56, a pair of grippers 132, 134 are pivotally fixed to the sleeve 128 and are adapted to be wedged into and against the post 56 under the weight of the shelf 130. Teeth are provided on grippers 132, 134 to aid in such gripping, whereby the position of the shelf along the post 56 may be set.

As stated previously, door 28 is of substantially semicylindrical configuration. In FIGS. 9 and 10, dotted lines 136, 138 are lines which run from the edges of the door 28 to the longitudinal axis 140 of that cylinder. It is to be noted that the longitudinal axis 140 of the cylinder is parallel to but spaced from the longitudinal axis 142 of the post 56 about which the arms 60, 64 and door 28 are pivotal. The spacing of the longitudinal axes 140, 142 is of extreme importance and results in the door 28 following a path as best shown in FIGS. 8A, 8B and 8C as it is opened and closed.

As shown in FIG. 8A, the bottom extrusion 38 which is part of door 28 is sealingly disposed against sealing strip 45 when door 28 is in its closed position. Similarly, top

extrusion 36 is sealingly disposed against sealing strip 43, upright extrusion 32 is sealingly disposed against sealing strip 42, and upright extrusion 34 is sealingly disposed against sealing strip 48 when door 28 is in its closed position (FIGS. 17, 19-21). As door 28 is opened (FIG. 7B), it moves rearwardly to the case frame 23 and into the case body, and, because of the offset of the longitudinal axes 140, 142 described above, moves away from the sealing strips 43, 45, 42, 48. FIG. 8C shows the door 28 in completely open position. In such state, door 28 is disposed substantially within the case body and has moved even further away from sealing strips 43, 45, 42, 48 (see also FIG. 22). The fact that the door 28 moves to a position substantially within the case body of the device means that it is almost completely out of the way, i.e., it need not be opened into the aisle of, for example, a store, blocking the way for customers. The fact that the door 28 moves away from the sealing strips 43, 45, 42, 48 means that, while an effective seal is achieved when the door 28 is closed, there is little or no friction between the door 28 and those seals as the door 28 is opened, resulting in little wear on the sealing strips and easy movement of the door from its closed to its open position and back again. Stop means 149 (FIG. 2) are included to limit the travel of door 28 from its closed position to its open position.

As mentioned previously, drive means 113 (FIG. 4) are provided to slowly rotate post 56. Referring to FIGS. 12- 14, a shelf 144 may be mounted on the post 56 by any of the means previously described. That shelf 144 will rotate with such rotating post 56. An additional device, shown in FIGS. 12-14, may be used with advantage in cooperation with such a shelf 144.

Mounted to frame member 16 is a strap 146 which extends therefrom across the top face of shelf 144 to adjacent the post 56. The strap 146 may with advantage be variable in length (by means of slot 148 and bolt and wingnut 150). A rail 144A is fixed about the edge of shelf 144. It will be seen that with items 152 placed on the shelf 144 and the shelf 144A being rotated in the direction indicated by arrow A, strap 146 and rail 144A will cooperate to hold the items 152 relative to the case frame. That is, the items 152 become wedged in between the strap 146 and rail 144A, which limits the movement of the items 152 even though the shelf 144 rotates. The face of the shelf 144 may be provided with rollers to insure that items 152 thereon are not Worn or damaged.

The advantages of such structure are numerous. First, it will be seen that items 152 will always be served up from the rear portion of shelf 144 to the front portion thereof adjacent door 28. This insures that a customer can always easily and conveniently reach items 152. Secondly, if the device is of the type that the items 152 are loaded into the rear thereof and not through door 28, the structure insures that the items 152 not recently loaded will be sold first, since they are the items most adjacent door 28.

It will be seen, of course, that a plurality of shelves, and straps cooperating therewith, could be provided along post 56.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, strap 146 is pivotally mounted to frame member 16 so that it can be moved upward and away from the face of shelf 144 if desired. Also a plurality of mounting points 151 for the strap 146 are provided so that it can be positioned to cooperate with shelf 144 no matter where that shelf 144 is positioned along post 56.

As best shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, an elongated torque rod 160 is longitudinally disposed in the post 56. One end of the torque rod 160 is anchored relative to the case body by means of hexagonal end portion 160A of torque rod 160 which fits into a hexagonal receiving aperture in a block 162 fixed relative to the case body. The other end of the torque rod 160 is anchored relative to the arm 60 by fitting a portion 160B of square cross section into a square aperture 164 in arm 60. The torque rod 160 serves to bias the door 28 in a closed position and resiliently urge the door 28 to a closed position by producing a turning moment on the door 28 about the longitudinal axis 140 of the post 56. FIG. 9 shows this twisting of the torque rod 160 to a certain degree.

FIG. 23 shows a second means of supporting the bottom portion of door 28. Instead of arm 64 interconnecting the door 28 and the post 56, arm 64 is eliminated. A frame member 22A, which is channel-like in cross section, is substituted therefor, and has disposed therein a plurality of roller means 166 which act to support the door 28 as it is moved from its closed to its open position and back again.

FIGS. 2426 show various installments of the refrigerator display case. FIG. 24 shows a refrigerator display case 210 having four doors 212, 214, 216', 218 thereon allowing access to items within the case 210. A door 220 is included in the case body so that the shelves 222, 224, 226, 228 may be loaded by a person passing through the door 220. FIG. 25 shows a smaller refrigerator display case 230 having doors 232, 234 which allow access to items within the case 230. However, in this embodiment, no door is provided in the use of the case body, the loading of shelves 236, 238 taking place through doors 232, 234. FIG. 26 shows the refrigerator case 240 as it would be used in a home. The case 240 is disposed in the corner of a room and has a single non-transparent door 242.

As will be seen from a study of these figures, significant advantages result from applicants structure. It will be noted that each door, when it is opened, moves to a position substantially within the case body of the device. This results in a substantial saving of space, since doors need not be opened into aisles. Meanwhile, low operating costs are maintained since proper seals are effected by the doors when they are closed.

Various means may be provided for operating the doors of the device. For example, a foot pedal could be provided adjacent the case to open a door and provide access to the items therein. Release of the foot pedal would allow the torque rod mentioned previously to urge the door 1 closed. Light-sensitive means could be included adjacent the door for detecting a light beam source having its beam directed at the light-sensitive means. Preventing the light beam from reaching the light-sensitive means could act to open the door. Such prevention could take place when a person reaches for the door, i.e., his hand blocks the light beam. Either of these door-opening means could be tied in with postand shelf-rotating means so that the opening of the door stops such rotation. Either of these door-opening means could be combined with means which automatically close the door after a certain time that the door has remained open.

Obviously, the invention can be carried out in many different ways, and the embodiments shown and described are merely illustrative.

I claim:

1. A case for displaying items comprising:

(a) a case body within which the items are disposed and defining an opening allowing access to the items;

(b) a door configured to close the opening and form with the case body a case when the opening is so closed;

(0) a substantially upright post mounted within the case and held relative to the case body;

(d) an arm pivotally mounted to the post and limited in its travel along the post, said arm being fixed to the door, whereby the door is pivotally mounted to the post, the door being pivotable to a first position to substantially close the opening and to a second position substantially within the case body allowing access through the opening to the items;

(e) means for supporting the door in its first and second positions and when being moved therebetween.

(f) roller means positioned within a trackway fixed to the case body and disposed to support the lower edge of the door, the limitation of the arms travel on the post and the roller means cooperating to support said door;

(g) said arm being pivotable about an axis parallel to but spaced from the axis of said case body, and said trackway describing an arc of a circle centered on said pivot axis of said arm.

2. The device of claim 1, in which said trackway and lower door edge are positioned in a channel, said channel having gasket means therein extending longitudinally thereof on one side of said channel; said channel being curved coaxially with said case body and being of sufiicient width to permit said lower door frame edge to move crosswise of said channel from a position in engagement with said gasket in the closed position of said door to a position out of engagement therewith in the open position of said door.

3. A case for displaying items comprising:

(a) a case body within which the items are disposed and defining an opening allowing access to the items;

(b) a door configured to close the opening and form with the case body a case when the opening is so closed;

(c) a substantially upright post mounted within the case and held relative to the case body;

(d) a pair of arms pivotally mounted to the post and limited in their travel along the post, said arms being fixed to the door to support said door by virtue of said limitation of their travel, whereby the door is pivotally mounted to the post, the door being pivotable to a first position to substantially close the opening and to a second position substantially within the case body allowing access through the opening to the items;

(e) means for supporting the door in its first and second positions and when being moved therebetween;

(f) said door being substantially semi-cylindrical in configuration and being pivotally movable relative to the post about a line defined by the longitudinal axis of the post parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cylinder so that the door substantially seats in the opening when in its first position and unseats from the opening and is spaced from the case frame to an increasing degree as said door is moved from its first to its second position.

4. A case according to claim 3 wherein are included a plurality of shelves each disposed about the substantially upright post, said shelves being spaced along and removably mounted to the substantially upright post and adapted to hold items thereon.

5. A case according to claim 4 wherein are included means for rotating the post about its longitudinal axis independent of the pivotal movement of the door thereabout, whereby the shelves and items thereon are rotated with the post.

6. A case according to claim 5 wherein are included means for limiting the movement of the items with the shelves and holding them relative to the case body.

7. In a case having a case body, an upright post fixed thereto, and a door pivotally mounted to the post and movable to open and closed positions relative to the case body, means for biasing the door in a closed position and resiliently urging the door to a closed position comprising an elongated torque rod longitudinally disposed in the post and having one end anchored relative to the case body and the other end anchored relative to the door, whereby a turning movement about the longitudinal axis of the post is imposed on the door.

8. A case according to claim 7 wherein are included light-sensitive means adjacent the door for detecting a light beam, a light beam source adjacent the door and having its beam directed at the light-sensitive means, and means for moving the door from its closed to its open position when the light beam is prevented from reaching the light-sensitive means.

9. A case for displaying items comprising:

(a) a case body defining an opening therein;

(b) a door configured to close the opening and form with the case body a case when the opening is so closed, the door being movable to a first position to substantially close the opening and to a second position to allow access through the opening;

(c) a substantially upright post mounted within the case and to the case body;

((1) at least one shelf disposed about the post and removably mounted thereto and adapted to hold items thereon;

(e) means for rotating the post about its longitudinal axis, whereby the shelf and items thereon are rotated with the post;

(f) rail means fixed to the shelf about the periphery thereof to aid in keeping items on the shelf; and

(g) a strap extending across the face of the shelf and being fixed to the case body and extending to adjacent the post, the rail means and strap acting to limit the movement of the items with the shelf and hold them relative to the case body.

10. A display case, comprising:

(a) a body having a generally cylindrical surface, a door opening in its generally cylindrical surface;

(b) a curved door adapted to close off said door opening; and

(c) means for opening said door by arcuately moving it about an axis parallel to but spaced from the axis of curvature of said generally cylindrical surface, so that the pivoting movement of the door about said spaced axis causes increasing spacing of the door from said surface as the door opens.

References Cited 2,693,989 11/1954 Santana et a1. 312305 BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner J. L. KOHNEN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 3 l21 16 

